Pelliciera rhizophorae belongs to the "true mangroves" and is one of the most fascinating mangroves ever. Unfortunately Pelliciera rhizophorae is also the rarest mangrove existing and endangered. Only a few last coastlines in Central America give habit to this magnificent and unique mangrove.

The Tea Mangrove was described by Planchon and Triana for the first time in 1862.

The name Tea Mangrove was given to this mangrove species because of its leaves which contain tannins and other substances found in tea, therefore the Tea Mangrove was considered part of the Tea Plant family for over than a century.

At the beginning of the Miocene (about 23 million years ago) Pelliciera rhizophorae had a wide distribution in the Caribbean. By the early Pliocene its distribution had been reduced drastically.

Once the Tea Mangrove grew along the Pacific coast from Mexico to Peru, Gulf of Mexico and coasts along the Caribbean Sea to Venezuela, maybe even up to Brazil.

It is believed that this reduction in range and its present distribution appears to be related to the influence of past and present changes on soil salinity within the mangrove ecosystems, rising seawater level as well as the increasing competition from the tolerant Rhizophora species.

Only in a few areas of Central America and northern South America where rivers lead into the ocean and high humidity is provided constantly the Tea Mangrove survived.

Today the distribution of the neotropical mangrove is mostly restricted to the Pacific Coast, between the Gulf of Nicoya in Costa Rica and the Esmeraldas River in Ecuador.

In the Caribbean, patches of Pelliciera rhizophorae have been found in Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia. Supposedly the Tea Mangrove also grows on some coasts in Venezuela but this information is not yet confirmed.

Even if the Tea Mangrove presently has a very limited distribution it is interesting to say that first genetic differences have been found between the Pelliciera rhizophorae growing along the Pacific Coast and the Pelliciera rhizophorae in the Caribbean. The two most intersting differences are able to be seen with the naked eye, the leaves and the flowers. Further information on the differences given in 'leaves' and 'flowers' of Pelliciera rhizophorae.

Abstract
Pelliciera rhizophorae can be cultivated easily under very good growing conditions.

Soil & Fertilizer
One of the most important criterium to cultivate Pelliciera rhizophorae successfully is the correct soil substrate with a numerous amount of the right nutrients. We recomment Mangrove Mud Special. We have excellent results in growing Pelliciera rhizophorae for many years in Mangrove Mud Special. Mangrove Mud Special is a long term fertilizer that can be used pure or stretched with sand. The less stretched Mangrove Mud Special is the more effective it is and the easier it is to cultivate Pelliciera rhizophorae.

Air temperature
Air temperature should be around 24 to 30°C. Not at any time the temperature should fall below 10°C. Short temperature drops for a few days down to 15°C are normally no problem and can be handled very well.

Water temperature
Water temperature should be around 23 to 28°C. Not at any time the temperature should fall below 10°C. Short temperature drops for a few days down to 15°C are normally no problem and can be handled very well.

Humidity
Humidity should be around 60 to 90 percent. The higher humidity is the better it is for Pelliciera rhizophorae and its growth.

Light
Light plays an important role in keeping Pelliciera rhizophorae successfully. Pelliciera rhizophorae needs intense light with daylight spectra. Most probably Pelliciera rhizophorae can only grow in summer without artificial lights in countries not closed to the equator. We recommend to cultivate Pelliciera rhizophorae during the whole year with artificial lights.

The artificial lights you use should have daylight spectra from 4900 to 6000 kelvins. From expierence we can recommend HQI (Metal Halide) or HPS (High Pressure Sodium) lights. We have no experience with T5 fluorescent lamps or LED. We do not recommend T8 fluorescent lamps or other common plant lamps.

Growth field
We have good experience in growing Pelliciera rhizophorae in containers made for hydroponics. Put your Pelliciera rhizophorae in an huge common pot and this pot in the container for hydroponics. The container should be flooded with brackish water until the water level reaches half of the pot where Pelliciera rhizophorae is growing in. We further recommend to install a little pump to circulate the water in the container. Alternatively you can install an air pump often used for aquariums.

Pelliciera rhizophorae also called Tea Mangrove develops rapidly a network of main underground roots which are about 1cm in diameter. The bigger the pot you can offer the better Pelliciera rhizophorae will grow. At the beginning the pot should be about 30 to 40cm in diameter which has a height of 30 to 40cm.

Salt
We recommend brackish water with a salinity of 10 to 15 grams not iodized sea salt per liter.

Pelliciera rhizophorae has magnificently buttresses that spread themselves around the trunk.

The rib-like buttress roots have different function. The most essential and most important function for the Tea Mangrove is that the buttresses provide stability.

Stability is of enormous importance in the intertidal zone which is flooded twice a day and is exposed to the full force fo the ocean during storms and hurricanes and help the Pelliciera rhizophorae not to fall over.

The wet, muddy and oxygen-poor or even oxygen-free soils in the intertidal zone have the consequences that the Tea Mangrove does not develop, compared to trees from the main land, deep-reaching roots which support stability a further fact why the buttresses are so important to the Tea Mangrove.

Not surprising that the buttress roots of the Pelliciera rhizophorae can reach sizes of up to two meters in height and three meters in width. Normally the buttresses do not exceed a height of one meter and width of 80 to 100cm.

The impressing buttresses do not penetrate to deeper layers and continue in a common root system that is deep-rooted into the ground.

As clearly shown on the pictures the buttresses and parts of the trunk that are flooded daily are fully covered with important pores called lenticels which actually allow Pelliciera rhizophora to breath during low tide and low waters as the Tea Mangrove prefers to grow in oxygen poor or oxygen free soil.

Pelliciera rhizophora grows in the intertidal sheltered zones with high salinity. The buttresses are also conditionally able to reject the salt and protect the plant from too high salinity.

As furthermore shown on the pictures it is said that Pelliciera rhizophorae has additional to its buttresses pneumatophores that look very much like knee-roots those pneumatophores developed typically by Bruguiera gymnorhiza.

The leather-like leaves of Pelliciera rhizophorae are spirally arranged and reach a length of 20cm and more and the width is up to 5cm. The surface as well as the bottom side are smooth. Only on the edges of the leaves are some small hairs.

Two glands can be found on each leaf which produce a sweet secretion often collected and protected by ants. Insects like grubs, arachnids, bugs and suchlike are almost never found on Pelliciera rhizophorae as the ants which belong to the Azteca defend their source gigorously.

The leaves of this mangrove contains tannins and other substances found in tea. Furthermore its visual appearance remembers strongly to a leaf of a tea plant. This is why the Pelliciera rhizophorae also called Tea Mangrove was considered part of the Tea Plant family for over than a century.

The elongated, narrowed and pointed leaves bright light to dark green in the sun and always remember of a tea leaf.

The Tea Mangrove grows in the intertidal zone in which the oxygen poor soils offer high salinity and sometimes trace metals or other pollutants. Most of the time these pollutants as well as the salt is excluded by the roots of the Mangrove.

Salt or pollutants that make it into the plant are deposited in the older leaves. Like Cactuses the Tea Mangrove is able to store water (salt succulence) to dilute high salt concentrations. Older leaves with high salinity are thrown off therefore the cluster-like growth of the leaves at the end of branches.

It is pretty interesting that the older leaves of Pelliciera rhizophorae along the Pacific Coast turn into red while the ones in the Caribbean turn into yellow.

Mangroves are not very well know for their beautiful flowers but Pelliciera rhizophorae is definitely an exception. The Tea Mangrove develops lovely 5 rayed symmetric white flowers which often are also coloured white and red. The single flowers grow at the end of branches between the cluster-like leaves.

At the beginning the flowers are closed and proteced by white to dark red coloured bracteoles.

After opening the bracteoles the flower shows in full bloom. The pleasantly scented flower has an approximately 10cm long carpels that can be colored from green to yellow to light pink.

The bracteoles are now off the flower and support the beautiful visual appearance of the flower of the Tea Mangrove.

Overall, the gorgeous flowers can reach up to 13cm in diameter.

It is pretty interesting that the flowers of Pelliciera rhizophorae along the Pacific Coast has red bracteoles while the ones in the Caribbean have greenish to yellowish bracteoles.

The ripped brown fruit of Pelliciera rhizophorae is most of the time about 10cm in diameter. Sometimes the fruits reach sizes up to 14cm. The fruit of the Tea Mangrove contains exactly one viviparous seed which is just a little bit smaller than the fruit itself. The seed is surrounded by a 3 to 5mm thin protection layer.

Depending on the size of the 4 to 6cm thick fruit a single fruit weights between 70 to 250 grams.

When the fruit of Pelliciera rhizophorae is ripe and drops off the up to 5cm long pointed tip drills into the ground and secures the seed its location.

Fruits of Pelliciera rhizophorae have been found already in caves of crabs which obviously like to eat them.

The seeds of Pelliciera rhizophorae are unique in botany as well as among the mangroves, worldwide.

Slightly smaller than the fruit itself, the seed is actually surrounded only by a 3 to 5mm thick protection layer.

The viviparous seed immediatly remembers of a heart once the cover is removed.

Depending on the size of the seed of Pelliciera rhizophorae a single seeds weights between 50 to 200 grams.

It is a very impressive moment when the cover is removed, the seed opens and the already very well developed sprout appears which can be already some centimeters long.

The bright red seed is between the two halves of the seed which will provide the sprout enough energy and nutrients from the mother tree for the next 6 to 12 months. When the plant is already autonomous the two halves wither and fall off.

It is fascinating that the well developed sprout already has leaves and even pores which are needed to breath in the oxygen poor soil.

When dropping off the ripe fruit of Pelliciera rhizophorae the pointed tip drills into the ground and secures the seed its location. Shortly after dropping off the protection layer will open and sothe seed opens and the sprout gets sunlight. The tip of the seed immediately develops its first roots to continue to secure its location and take nutrients out of the soil.

Gradually the to halves of the seed turn into a horizontally position to make space for the sprout so that there is enough space for the plant to develop and grow.

Since it is actually less a seed than an already well-developed little plant the freshness of the seeds of Pelliciera rhizophorae is very important. Already after a few days the seeds begin to rot if not treated correctly.

The area of the dark brown trunk of the Tea Mangrove which is flooded daily is covered by numerous pores that allow Pelliciera rhizophora to breath during low tide and low water levels. Most of the time you can find a mark at the trunk that shows until where the high tide goes at this is normally until where the pores go.

Above this mark there are almost no more pores and the colour of the trunk truns into light grey with single dark spots.

Pelliceria rhizophorae is more adaptable to different soil conditions than originally thought. However, Pelliceria rhizophorae prefers protected esturine banks, those areas where freshwater rivers flow into the ocean and protected beaches. Esturine banks generally offer very nutritious soils and perfect growing conditions for Pelliceria rhizophorae.

Since Pelliceria rhizophorae also called Tea Mangrove belongs to the true mangroves it grows in the intertidal zone which is flooded twice a day. Normally during high tide Pelliceria rhizophorae is flooded totally as shown on the pictures.

Mainly Pelliceria rhizophorae grows in oxygen-poor or even oxygen-free, muddy soils that provide through high and low tide, the freshwater rivers and the animals living in the mangroves a numerous amount of nutrients.

It is important that the salinity of the soil does not reach a value more than 37 %, as we know too high salinity was already in history responsable for the drive out of Pelliceria rhizophorae.

It is also known that the increasing pollution of coastal areas damage the existing Pelliceria rhizophorae population and even threaten the continuance of Pelliceria rhizophorae. A not insignificant factor of pollution happens in the country and then often transported by rivers into the ocean passing by the Pelliceria rhizophorae population which supposed to take some of its nutrients from these rivers.

Pelliciera rhizophorae grows along the coast of Central America. If the right conditions like nutritious soils, high humidity of 80 to 90 %, a lots of intense light as well as air temperature of 25 to 30°D are provided Pelliciera rhizophorae grows to an impressing tree which can reach up to 20 meters in height.

The size of Pelliciera rhizophorae varies and stands in direct relation with the location and the growth conditions. Another improtant role of the growth of Pelliciera rhizophorae are other mangrove species. Fast-growing and robust mangrove species like the Rhizophora mangle or Rhizophora harrisonii spread quickly and widely with their stilt roots and often displace Pelliciera rhizophorae.

Gererally Pelliciera rhizophorae does not exceed a height of 15 meters.

Young plants developt already after a couple of leaves their first branches and therefore quickly grow in width. This is one more characteristic of the Pelliciera rhizophorae to protect and secure its location.

At locations with a lots of space Pelliciera rhizophorae develops a huge tree top similar to a cherry tree, mangosteen tree or a chestnut tree and reaches sizes from 10 to 15 meters.

At locations with not much space and a lots of competition from other trees it is important to receive enough sunlight and therefore Pelliciera rhizophorae quickly grows high up in the sky. In this case Pelliciera rhizophorae does not develop a huge tree top but a tall trunk and reaches sizes of up to 20 meters.